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Pirates vs Brewers Odds, Lines, and Pick (April 17)

Jordan Horrobin

by Jordan Horrobin in MLB Baseball

Updated Apr 17, 2021 · 8:21 AM PDT

Avisail Garcia and Omar Narvaez high-five
Milwaukee Brewers' Avisail Garcia (24) is congratulated by teammate Omar Narvaez (10) after hitting a two-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Saturday, April 10, 2021, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
  • The Pirates and Brewers continue their three-game series at American Family Field 
  • Pittsburgh sends Trevor Cahill to the mound against Milwaukee’s Brett Anderson 
  • For the odds, matchup analysis, and best bets, check out the article below

The Milwaukee Brewers have won three series in a row, all against National League Central opponents. If they want to continue that trend, they’ll need to dig in against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday, April 17 (first pitch at 7:10pm ET).

Pittsburgh won the opener of this three-game set, 6-1, but Milwaukee remains the moneyline favorite entering Game 2:

Pirates vs Brewers Odds

Team Moneyline Runline  Run Total at DraftKings
Pittsburgh Pirates +125 +1.5 (-177) Over 8 (-115)
Milwaukee Brewers -143 -1.5 (+148) Under 8 (-106)

Odds as of April 17th.

About Last Night

The Brewers saw a string of remarkable starting pitching performances come to an end on Friday, as Adrian Houser took the loss, allowing five hits and three runs in 4.1 innings. That marked Milwaukee’s first loss by a starting pitcher since April 5, and the team had gone 6-2 since then to climb into a share of first in the NL Central.

On the other side, the Pirates rode a three-run fifth inning to victory, lifting the team to a 5-2 record in recent games. They’ve allowed two or fewer runs in four of those recent victories.

On Friday, Pittsburgh’s bullpen yielded just a hit and four walks in three innings, following a stellar start from JT Brubaker, who tossed six innings, giving up just four hits, one run and fanning eight.

Brewers Career Stats vs Trevor Cahill

Player AB HR RBI AVG.
Jackie Bradley Jr. 3 0 1 .333
Avisail Garcia 7 1 1 .286
Keston Hiura 0 0 0 .000
Billy McKinney 0 0 0 .000
Omar Narvaez 8 0 0 .250
Jace Peterson 7 0 0 .286
Manny Pina 3 0 0 .000
Travis Shaw 3 0 0 .000
Daniel Vogelbach 7 1 1 .429
Christian Yelich 0=6 0 0 .167

Who’s Hot

He wasn’t at his absolute best on Friday (1-for-5), but Pirates third baseman Philip Evans has been a breakout star in the early stages of the season to the surprise of many (myself included).

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I’ll admit I didn’t know who Evans was when the season began, but now I know he has reached safely in all 12 games and has a 1.001 OPS from the second spot in the Pirates’ order.

The Brewers, admittedly, don’t have anyone as hot as Evans — unless you want to count starter Corbin Burnes, but he’s not relevant to Saturday’s matchup. Catcher Omar Narvaez did enter the night with a .414 average, but he cooled off a bit by going 0-for-4 with a strikeout.

Pirates Career Stats vs Brett Anderson

Player AB HR RBI AVG
Anthony Alford 0 0 0 .000
Wilmer Difo 0 0 0 .000
Phillip Evans 0 0 0 .000
Adam Frazier 6 0 0 .667
Erik Gonzalez 5 0 0 .400
Colin Moran 0 0 0 .000
Kevin Newman 2 0 1 .000
Gregory Polanco 2 0 0 .000
Bryan Reynolds 5 0 0 .200
Jacob Stallings 3 0 1 .333

Get to Know the Starters

Where the Brewers see their advantage in this game — as they have for much of the season so far — is on the mound.

And it’s not even that Milwaukee’s Brett Anderson (1-1, 4.50 ERA) is all that good, but rather that he’s a much steadier presence than Pittsburgh’s Trevor Cahill (0-1, 8.00 ERA).

Both pitchers are coming off starts in which they allowed one run in five innings, but before that Cahill blew up in a four-inning, seven-run outing against the Reds. He’s on his sixth team in the past five years (4.82 ERA in that span), and the main reason is an inability to remain consistent.

The Brewers will still likely be without Christian Yelich, which hurts, but they’ve got enough pop to rattle Cahill and get a victory.

Pick: Milwaukee Brewers (-143)

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